Street Flower
by SaberNymph
Summary: Driven by his boundless ambition, Sinbad sets out to build the citizenship of his future country. In his quest to find skilled workers, he uncovers Tamasvi, a young but renowned blacksmith with a shrouded past and a desire to prove herself. Together, they make the rukh go wild, but what does that mean? SinbadxOC


**Street Flower**

Chapter One

Marketplace Meetings

It was a busy day in the marketplace in the capitol city of the kingdom of Balbadd. The teeming throngs of merchants and buyers only served to intensify the type of dry eye heat that baked the coastal kingdom and its inhabitants. People dressed in long linen or cotton clothes to combat the heat, swathed from head to toe in turbans, sleevless tunics, or in the case of most the women: simple white breast bandeaus and baggy pants which hung upon their basket-bearing hips.

It was in this kind of heat that I was standing, forge ablaze, narrowed eyes focused on the bent blade of an orange-glowing sword whose blade I was relentlessly hammering into submission. Though still quite young, I had quickly made a name for myself across Balbadd as being a very reliable and exemplary blacksmith. Proving myself hadn't been easy, but challenges had never been a deal breaker for me. My father always used to say that every step one refused was essentially the same as a whole step backwards. So despite the danger and threat of failure, I'd left home at the age of 13 and hadn't gone back since. Father had died 3 years prior, and my only memories of my mother were fleeting and virtually non existent. Father had never been very keen to talk about her.

Frowning to myself at the direction my own train of thought had gone, I sighed and dipped the sword into a cooling bath. About the same time, I became aware of an even louder commotion than was normal in the chaotic market. Behind me, a tent flap came flying open wildly, revealiing my clearly excited younger brother Haruto.

"Tamasvi!" He all but screeched at me, one hand clutching onto my wrist that held the cooling sword, while his other continued waving wildly, "You're never going to believe what I just heard!"

I eyed him boredly and proceeded to go back to work. Haruto was always abuzz about something. If it wasn't some local rumor then there was likely a cute cat in the next booth or something else equally ridiculous.

"TAM! It's Sinbad! The dungeon conquerer! You know, the one who's been putting on shows at the theater and is supposedly loved by the king himself?!"

Despite myself, I snorted. "Big whoop..."

"Big whoop?! He's the owner of Two djinns, Tam!"

Haruto was becoming breathlessly upset by this point. I knew I should just acknowledge his fervor, but it was hard to pretend with him sometimes.

"Oh, come on, Haruto," I sighed, placing the sword on my worktable, "The guy's a flagrant self-promoter and very likely a complete and utter fraud. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he didn't even have an actual djinn in that crummy sword of his. He's clearly full of himself and out to dupe people into giving him-"

I stopped short at the expression on my little brother's face. It had slowly morphed from one of agitation to that of horror as I'd continued speaking.

"Haruto, what's the ma-" I began to say, until I was suddenly interrupted by a smooth masculine voice from behind the counter of my market stand.

"Although i must confess I am a flagrant self-promoter, I assure you, my lady, this 'crummy sword' does in fact hold a djinn."

Face flushed completely red, I slowly turned to look at a grinning teenage boy on the other side of my counter. He looked completley uninsulted despite what I'd said, golden eyes gleaming like the light that refracts off waves in the ocean. His violently purple hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and partially braided on one side of his temple. His appearance looked oddly local yet somehow foreign at the same time. His hairstyle and accent denoted Partevia, but his clothing was clearly foreign and influenced by many different areas. He wore a navy jacket, plain baggy white pants, two large golden hoop earrings, and his infamous scimitar on his hip. My eyes lingered on the weapon for a second. It took me no time at all to realize that his "crummy sword" was in fact finely crafted and quite possibly an heirloom. I hadn't seen craftsmanship of its like in quite a while.

"Sinbad, I presume?" I managed to say quietly, trying valiantly to gain control of the color of my face. Although I still believed what I'd said, I couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"The very same!" He said, beaming. "And you must be the incredible blacksmith Tamasvi I've been trying to locate."

I blinked twice, slightly taken aback. This kid was looking for me?

"I'm sorry, I guess I don't follow. You're that guy Sinbad who supposedly conquered a dungeon and who is close friends with the king of Balbadd, but you're looking for me?"

Sinbad's mischevious grin melted into more of a smirk at my apparent cluelessness. "Of course! I'm in desperate need of a blacksmith. You see, I'm going to start my own country soon and I'll be needing lots of skilled craftsmen-or craftsladies?-to join me in my quest to change the world!"

For a few seconds, I was utterly speechless. My first reaction was to laugh. Uproariously. Yet for some reason, the confidence in his demeanor and the complete and utter conviction in his voice gave me pause. This boy, who was certainly not much older than myself, was talking about starting his own goddamn country, yet for some reason I couldn't bring myself to laugh in his face.

My warring emotions were apparently blatantly transparent since Sinbad proceeded to start smiling again with that same infuriatingly optimistic grin of his. "I'm a lot to take in, aren't I?" He said, grinning impishly and then...did he actually wiggle his eyebrows suggestively?!

Just who in the hell was this guy? Who did he think he was?! Was he actually trying to flirt with me right now?!

Suddenly to my left, a blue blur of hormonal excitement came screeching up to the counter. "Holy Solomon, Tam! Mr. Sinbad! Did you really clear the dungeon in Partevia after 10,000 men had died in it?! And now you're going to start your own country?!"

Sinbad smiled and shrugged, "Well, I can't say I was keeping count-"

Haruto was already on to the next 30 questions though, leaving Sinbad gasping at the speed of his inquiries, attempting to rapid fire answers in response. As they continued their back and forth, I suddenly noticed the throng of people that was surrounding us, watching in interest. Sinbad clearly wasn't alone. He had a small entourage following him. The fact that I hadn't noticed them first was a clear testament to just how overwhelming Sinbad's presence truly was. Behind him were several incredibly interesting and obviously foreign people. The one closest to Sinbad's left elbow was a small child with white hair, dressed in a plain off white smock. His vibrant green eyes watched Sinbad with obvious adoration, but something about his stance and demeanor told me this was only a child in appearance.

To Sinbad's right was another young foreigner, but the difference in his size in relation to everyone else was astounding. He towered over Sinbad and the others. His broad chest was covered with a long strip of fur armor and on his brow was a rather curious blue head band. His long blue hair was nearly as long as Sinbad's but completely untethered. Behind him, a red-haired Sassan knight with his traditional diagonally cut bangs leaned heavily on his massive conical-shaped teal spear. He eyed the crowds around him and his leader with blatant concern. He didn't seem to enjoy the amount of attention Sinbad was creating.

"Listen, Sinbad," I said, placing a hand on my little brother's mouth as he continued to spew questions, effectively silencing him and causing Sinbad's golden eyes to flicker back to me. "I don't particularly care about dungeons or your wild fantasies, but I am a professional. I apologize for my comments earlier, but I'm still not entirely certain what it is that you want from me and I do kind of have a business to run here. So before I lose my patience, please explain to me in detail what it is you need."

Momentarily taken aback at my straight forward manner, Sinbad quickly switched back to his cocky self. "Of course, my lady. I have no intention of wasting yours or my time. To put it simply, I have work orders for you. My men are in almost constant need of armor, weapons, and repairs. Not to mention, my merchant vessels must be well-supplied with basic hardware and tools which I'm sure you are more than capable of making."

I scoffed, "Well, naturally."

Maneuvering himself around my counter, Sinbad had suddenly managed to get inside my personal bubble. In seconds, my right hand was firmly clasped between his rather large hands, and I knew without even tugging that it would be hard to break free of him. His eyes-those mesmerizing pools of amber-were trained so fiercely on my own that staring into them was almost like plunging into a cold pool and not resurfacing for breath. I forgot to breathe as his presence served to completely overwhelm me. No man before or ever after had ever made me feel like this; helpless yet completely safe from harm. There was no threat in him, but it was painfully obvious that he was a very powerful boy-nay! man. Locked into those eyes of his as I was, it was hard to miss the undeniable wealth of passion and ambition that bubbled inside Sinbad, threatening to overflow at any moment like the eruption of a fierce super volcano. His raw intensity was so staggering it both excited and terrified me.

"I assure you, my lady Tamasvi, if you join my comrades and I we shall be eternally grateful. Your happiness and safety will be of my utmost concern. My goal is to one day run a prosperous country full of all types of different people who can live together in happiness and prosperity. I would love for you and your little brother to be among our first citizens. If you join the Sindria Trading Company, you can expect a future full of wealth, happiness, and adventure. And who doesn't want to have an adventure?" Sin finished with his signature impish grin.

Upon hearing his last words, it was like hearing the voice of my father all over again.

 _Why turn down an opportunity, flower? You never know where it might lead!_

Blushing slightly, I quickly pulled my hand out of Sinbad's grasp and took a step back. Haruto was next to me in an instant. "Oh, please, can we, Tam? I'm tired of this place anyway.

Trying to ignore Sinbad's self-satisfied and completely confident smirk, I turned my attention to my little brother. "That's not the point, Har. I mean I literally just got the permit to open this place up. We haven't even been here a month and now you wanna go run off with some guy who could be a complete lunatic for all we know."

Behind Sinbad, his three companions snorted. The blue-haired man thwacked Sin on the back nearly knocking him into the next booth. "Hahaha! Sin may be a lunatic, but his intentions are pure."

"That reminds me, I forgot to introduce some of my friends," Sinbad said, straightening himself and brushing off dust, "Tamasvi, this blue leviathan is Hinahono. He's from the famous Imachukk tribe. And over here is Mystras, a knight of Sassan and son of the Knight King Darius. Oh! And this fiery little thing is Ja'far, a former assassin, and my personal household vassal. They're all incredible fighters and loyal, steadfast men."

I inclined my head slightly, "Greetings to you all. Although I'm still not certain about this. Like I said, my permit just-"

"I would gladly reimburse you for the cost of the permit and for any materials you had to buy while here-like your forge for instance," Sinbad interjected, baffling me even further.

Mouth agape, I found it even harder to fend him off a second time when he yet again grasped my hand, but this time draew it to his chest while his other wrapped around the small of my back and drew me in close till all I could feel was the steady beat of his heart against my hand. "I beg of you, sweet lady blacksmith, please join our team. I am in desperate need of your skills, so won't you please open your heart just this once?"

Behind Sinbad's back, I could hear Hina, Mystras, and Ja'far all simultaneously snorting or groaning at their leader's antics.

"Oh, for the love of Solomon!" I groaned, "If I say yes will you let go of me and stop guilt tripping me to death?!"

"Hmmm...no promises," Sinbad grinned at me, smiling even wider when my blush deepened.

"For crying out loud, Sin! You have GOT to learn how to behave!" Ja'far groaned into his hands.

I couldn't help but laugh at that as I rather roughly yanked my hand away and pushed Sinbad back unceremoniously. "Alright, you lunatic. If you pay me the price of the permit and my materials, I'll join you."

Sinbad's face broke out in a rapturous smile that looked like it might break his face in half, "Excellent! You will definitely not regret this, my lady! I just knew you'd fall for my charms eventually!" He declared, striking a pose that made a few of the girls in the marketplace swoon idiotically.

Rolling my eyes, I turned to Haruto who looked like he was about to vibrate out of his skin. "Alright, Har. Let's start striking down the tents I supp-"

Before I could even finish my sentence, Haruto disappeared into the tent to start packing our things. We generally didn't keep much on us these days. We'd always been fairly nomadic and until I'd bought this booth we hadn't really had any solid living quarters. I looked around rather ruefully at my shop. I'd barely gotten to break it in. "Sinbad," I said, "You'll have to give me a little bit of time to wrap up my affairs at least. I still have this order I need to finish. I'd rather not start tarnishing my reputation now."

He bowed his head in respect, "Of course. Take however long you need. Our ship is moored in the harbor and you can find us at the local inn whenever your need arises. How much longer do you think it will take you to wrap up your final orders here?"

I quickly calculated in my head, "Certainly no longer than a week. I have some swords I need to finish for the Balbadd military, but after that I'm free. Once everything is done, we'll come find you at the inn. If it's the one by the harbor, then I know exactly the one you're speaking of."

Sinbad nodded in affirmation, "Yes, the very same. Alright, very well, Tamasvi. We shall meet again in a week then." One last rougish smile, and he and his motley group of companions turned to leave.

I stood there for a moment watching them disappear into the crowds until I could no longer see Sinbad's long violet hair. I suddenly let out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Oh gods...what on earth had I done? What in the world was going to happen now? Had I just condemned myself and my little brother to an unknown future likely to fall flat on its face or was that crazy man really as influential and powerful as my instincts were telling me he was.

"You made the right decision, Tam." I jumped slightly, unaware that Haruto had reamerged and was standing next to me. He was peering at me knowingly, "I know you're worried, but you made the right choice." He insisted.

"Did you see something, Har?" I asked inquisitively, knowing that Haruto's confidence had to be based on his abilities.

Haruto nodded. "Mmmhmmm. The rukh were flying around him and you like crazy through that whole conversation. When he was holding your hand, they were practically covering the whole marketplace."

At the reminder of Sin's touch, I flushed a little and looked away from Har's eyes, not wanting him to see just how thrown off I really was by Sin's cheap trick. I was certain he pulled that nonsense on every girl. Clearly, he knew he had an effect on women and used it to his full advantage. What a cretin...

But...the rukh? The rukh didn't just love anyone...

Haruto had told me years ago about his ability to see the little golden butterflies that embodied the flow of our universe. He'd informed me after the very first time he ever saw them. He'd actually scared the hell out of me, because he ran at me full speed yelling about bugs in my hair. It took us a full minute to realize that the "bugs" he was seeing were not in fact bugs at all but the pure hearts of our ancestors which our parents had told us about.

So if Haruto was seeing the rukh like that then it definitely meant we were on the right path. The question was now...what path had I just started us on?

Author Note:

Alright, folks. This is the first time in over a literal decade that I am attempting to write again, so please! any feedback would be greatly appreciated. It'd be nice to know if there's any interest in this story at all before I go plunging head first into another fanfic. Much love, readers!


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